Chapter 35 Cows and Horses
A month ago, April 22, 1866, at the port of Dar es Salaam.
Today, the immigrants from the first town and the chief of the colony came to Dar es Salaam port to pick up the goods. Unlike in the past, there are more people dispatched today.
"Old Qian, why did Master Kilman call us here today? They usually come to this place by themselves." An immigrant asked.
"Where would I know? The officer told us to do what we did, so there's so much nonsense." Old Qian said.
"Aren't I afraid? I finally had enough to eat in the first town. What if I send us back to the Qing Dynasty!"
"Don't think about it, Master Kilman wants us to grow crops for them. The land here is so barren, and those natives are so clumsy that they don't even know how to farm. It is impossible for Master Kilman to farm by himself. Right! So what are you afraid of?"
The two of them were chatting when they saw a few large ships appearing on the sea level in the distance.
"Look at this posture, it can't be a new immigrant! We were brought here by that big ship last time."
Old Qian shook his head: "Who knows, I'll know when the ship lands in a while."
After a while, the Dutch merchant ship docked at the port of Dar es Salaam. The Dutch opened the fence beside the ship and laid wooden planks, and an unloading channel several meters wide appeared.
The German chief began to direct the immigrants to board the ship and unload the cargo. Following the leadership of the chief, the immigrants boarded the familiar ship again, and the immigrants on board finally saw the cargo this time.
"This is a horse, this is a cow!" The person who was talking to Lao Qian just now said in surprise.
"Should I just say? Such a good land should raise some livestock. The grass near the first town grows so well, and these natives don't know how to plant or raise animals."
Old Qian said with disgust: "The more you say it, the more outrageous it is, why are you still scolding it! That's called an animal."
"It's all the same, it's all the same, we can't say anything good, are we uneducated, aren't we? Haha..." laughed awkwardly.
"Don't laugh, don't come to help, drive the cattle!"
…
After a busy meal, the cows and horses were finally driven off the boat, and the immigrants from the first town began to drive the cows and horses towards the direction of the first town.
The German chief seems to have been prepared for a long time. I don’t know where to get the saddle and bridle, and put it on a horse.
As an old European cavalryman, Del finally found the feeling of galloping on the battlefield this time.
He drove the horse imported from Russia and tried his skills on an open field. The horse was quite docile, and he drove Del on the flat ground for two laps.
In recent days, because Prussia is preparing for war, Prussian mules and horses have been controlled, and export is even more impossible.
So Ernst deliberately imported hundreds of horses from Russia. Horse farming is popular in Europe, so there are many horses in various countries, and the Eastern European part of Russia is already rich in horses, and there are vast grasslands in Central Asia and the Far East. raise horses.
Ernst sent people to Russia to buy horses, and then set off from the Baltic Sea, and sent them to the East African colonies via Dutch merchant ships. When they passed through the Netherlands, they also pulled a batch of cattle.
The Netherlands is a big country in animal husbandry. Animal husbandry is the primary industry of agriculture, and the second is flower cultivation.
Ernst currently has no way to improve the mechanization of the East African colonies. At present, Europe is still using animal power. Steam agricultural machinery is somewhat sold in the market, but steam agricultural machinery is expensive, bulky, and not efficient.
So Ernst thought about doing some farming in the colonies to provide some animal power for the future. There are no large domesticated livestock in Africa. The animals in Africa are full of wildness, and the aborigines live by hunting. The animals everywhere are the food of aboriginals. Although the source is dangerous, sufficient resources make these tribes lack the consciousness to improve productivity.
…
The sheriff began to order the immigrants to build horse pens and cattle pens, and at the same time recruited some experienced immigrants to be responsible for breeding.
The location of the breeding factory is five or six miles away from the town, between the first town and the third town.
There is a meadow here, where immigrants set up camp and drive cattle and horses in with wooden fences.
"They are all good cattle! In the past, only the landlord's cattle could raise them so strong."
"This horse is not bad. I have seen a horse ridden by a high-ranking official in my life. On it sits a fat-headed and big-eared official, and his soldiers follow him."
"You are talking about the long-haired ones from the imperial court!"
"Yes, that's what those soldiers said. Before they left, they robbed a few cows from the landlord Wang's house in our village, saying that they were requisitioned by the court, and they were more ruthless than bandits. The landlord's servants can usually guard the village. There is a bandit named Ermazi the Great, who usually dare not go to Mr. Wang’s village, but when the soldiers from the imperial court came, his servants dare not even fart, and they usually bully and bully ordinary people like us.”
"Bah, it's not a good thing, dog bites dog, mouth hair, why doesn't God take this kind of beast away, the sky has no eyes!"
"Well, fortunately, the foreign master came to recruit workers the year before last. At that time, there was no way to survive, so I just wanted to find a way to survive, so I boarded the boat. I couldn't imagine the current life before!"
"Who said it wasn't! My family was also in trouble, and my two brothers starved to death. I was lucky to wait until Master Kilman came to survive. Without those dog officials and landlord bastards, life is just now It's easier, Mr. Kilman always keeps his word, and it really pays off!"
"If you want me to say that the Qing Dynasty is coming to an end, I have heard from the village scholars that the imperial court can't beat the foreigners, and they cede land and pay compensation every year. These grandchildren don't treat us as human beings, and someone will take care of them."
"Oh, it's hard to say, those foreigners, what British chickens, and French chickens have come to our land, don't the officials still eat delicious and spicy? The compensation they want is not apportioned to us! I heard that when the South loses a war , will increase taxes a few times, what is called war repayment, dog-like thing, harmful to people!"
"This means that we are no longer living in the Qing Dynasty, and we don't have those black-hearted old masters on our heads. They all say that foreigners are terrible. This Master Kilman is usually a bit fierce, and he is better than those black-hearted Qing officials. Intestines are clean."
"Well, speaking of it, Feika (Africa) is good for everything, good food, good clothes, but there are too few wives, those black natives can't look at it, so many of us bachelors don't know if we can get a wife in this life Son."
"I know how to think about it all day long. You can't even eat in the Qing Dynasty. What kind of woman would like you to live a hard life with you?"
"Aren't I thinking about important things in life? Think about what's going on. After a few years of development, if we can go back to the Qing Dynasty, won't we be able to find a wife? When we come back, the family will have a litter here." baby."
"That's impossible! Can Master Kilman let us go back?"
"You don't understand this! You know that there is an officer in the town from Kilman. He is also our Chinese. He has a foreign name of Pierce Lee, and he can talk to people,"
"He said he was a graduate of the Heixingen Military Academy. Our land here belongs to the headmaster Heixingen. This headmaster is amazing. In the Qing Dynasty, he is a relative of the emperor's family."
"I've also heard that Chief Pierce Lee was spotted by Master Kilman at a young age, and he went to Kilman to study abroad, so he was able to come to us as an official."
"That's what Officer Pierce Lee said. We are all Gu workers of Hexingen Company, that is, long-term workers. After working for 20 years, we can choose how to live. After the time is up, we can stay in Afeika or return to the Qing Dynasty. Choose by yourself, and Chief Pierce Lee also said that the few pieces of paper given to us every month must not be lost, that is the Kilman Silver Ocean issued to us, and can be exchanged for money at the Qing Dynasty's bank."
"How many pieces of paper can be exchanged for money?"
"You don't understand this! This is the money used by the foreign masters. It can be exchanged for silver in the Qing Dynasty. If the Qing Dynasty does not recognize the foreign masters, they will beat those masters. A few years ago, the soldiers of the British chicken and the French chicken I heard that they all went into the Forbidden City to sit on the dragon chair, and even burned the emperor's garden, what is it called the Old Summer Palace, and finally the queen mother and the emperor even paid a sum of money to the foreign master."
"If that's the case, I'll keep those few pieces of paper. Master Kilman sent it to me before, and there was a foreigner's face printed on it. I thought it was something important that I didn't dare to throw away, but I didn't expect it to be money. Put it away and use it to marry a daughter-in-law in the future."
"Old man Wang, you are still thinking about marrying a wife in your forties? How old will you be in twenty years?"
"What's the matter with marrying a daughter-in-law, I have never tasted single life! When I am old, I will find an old daughter-in-law, as long as I have money, I can't find it."
"that's right…"
The immigrants chatted about the past, present and future, their eyes full of hope for a happy life.
(end of this chapter)